Mystified
by BeautifulxButterflies
Summary: Vlad and Ingrid have to learn to be siblings again, Bertrand has to train a reluctant Erin, Ingrid fights her growing affections for Bertrand, and Vlad gets embarrassed. A lot. Eventual Ingrid/Bertrand, Established Erin/Vlad, Vlad/Ingrid eventual kinship.
1. Prelude

**Hey! Well i haven't written in over a year i think, but Young Dracula inspired me to come back to the writing and such!  
><strong>**Anyone here following Doctor Who? I really hope they don't kill off Amy this season coming, but Moffat, ungddhg.**

**Anyway, go on, read!**

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><p>Erin sighed irritably, shoving Bertrand away.<p>

"I can't do this, I'm only human."

"Which is why you have to," He countered, just as annoyed. He'd not signed up for this, he'd thought he'd be training the chosen one and that was it, but no, Vlad just couldn't handle betrayal and now as his punishment for what he'd done prior to Sethius's return he had to train her. The puny, irritating slayer girl who at this point, he couldn't believe was even a slayer at all with her lack of skills.

"You don't believe that," She rolled her eyes, tugging the sleeves on her sweater down restlessly. "You just know if I quit you'll get blamed."

He didn't bother denying it. "You still should learn," He admitted, his scowl never faltering. She crossed her arms and walked back to the punching bag.

"Then teach me something for once."

He held back his frustrated growl and moved to the other side, holding it. "Aim for the Count's head." He muttered, though really it needed no explanation.

"Maybe we should replace that with a photo of you."

…

Ingrid picked at her nail polish and raised an eyebrow as she watched Renfield chase Wolfie through the living room. It was something out of a sickly family sitcom really, and it'd happened so many times lately that she wondered who would get in trouble, Wolfie or Renfield? Because one of them surely would, they'd broken several of the Count's treasured bottles of blood in the last week.

"Come here you stupid mutt! You need a flea bath!"

"I don't want one, go away!"

"I don't care if you want one!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Don't make me hurt you, Wait yes, Do!"

Wolfie spun and Renfield smirked, thinking he had him cornered. He approached slowly.

"Good dog."

Ingrid herself let out a little snarl at that, and Wolfie just shot her a sneaky look before moving to stand in front of Renfield.

"Okay, I'll have a bath."

Renfield leant down to pick him up, and Wolfie grinned, kicking him hard between the legs, sticking his tongue out, and running off.

Ingrid laughed, beyond amused, and watched as Renfield swore and shuffled out of the room after Wolfie, obviously in a lot of pain.

"What are you laughing at?" Vlad asked, dropping down beside her.

"Nothing you'd find funny. Dead puppies and whatnot." She shrugged. She didn't mean to ward him off, she just hated to be close to anyone here. She _couldn't _get close again, not with her plan's climax fast approaching. She'd already become far too attached to Wolfie, she was even considering taking him with her at one point, it disgusted her.

"Oh yes, because I'm sure that your mind is a dark disturbing place that's far too scary for me." Vlad said sceptically.

"Oh believe me, it is." She smirked, fiddling with a piece of peeled polish before simply dropping it on the table before her.

"Oh come on Ingrid, when are you actually going to talk to me?" Vlad frowned, leaning forward so they were looking straight at each other.

"We're talking right now." She stated coldly, leaning back in her chair and levelling her gaze at him.

"Not like we used to. Remember when you were going to run away with Will? We talked then, properly talked and we were friends, sort of. Why does it have to be so different now?" His eyes were wide and honest and he looked like he genuinely didn't understand. And that's what Ingrid hated the most. He didn't see how twisted she'd gotten.

"In case you forgot, Will died." She hissed, before getting to her feet and speeding out.

Vlad sighed, dropping his head against the dining table. It really did seem that things would never be fixed.

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><p><strong>Well I'll make sure to update if you like it, and if you do like it I'll be writing much longer chapters, so please be sure to leave a review so i know how you feel! Constructive Criticism is encouraged! :)<strong>

**Amy x**


	2. Just A Little Nibble

**Hey! Back again ! :) Well I was up late so I figured, another chapter! Yay! As promised it is over a thousand words longer!**

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><p>"I'm planning a ball!"<p>

"…_What_?"

"I'm planning a ball. All of the local women will be required to attend and I can take my pick-"

"Dad! I said, no biting!"

"Yes well, I'm sure a little nibble isn't out of the question?"

"Yes, it is!" Vlad groaned, exasperated. Ever since Miss McCauley had cancelled her date with the Count last week, he'd been restless and sad and absolutely insane, and it was driving everyone else around them just as crazy.

"Oh just let him bite someone, maybe he'll get a disease and we'll refuse to treat him properly." Ingrid scowled from where she was lounging about on the sofa. The Count scowled right back at her, and then looked pleadingly back at Vlad.

"She's half right, for once, just one ball!"

Bertrand snickered from where he was sitting opposite Wolfie, playing chess, as The Count had snapped at him to entertain the small boy.

Vlad gave Ingrid and Bertrand both condescending looks. "Do you want to be staked then?" He asked Ingrid, still sore from their 'talk' earlier on.

"Depends."

"On what?" Erin asked, looking surprised. "Whether it hurts or not? Because I'm fairly sure it hurts."

"No. On whether or not I get to watch Vlad die first."

Vlad's nails dug into his palms and he just forced a flat smile. "You're so nice today Ingrid. So feminine and sweet."

Ingrid just smirked and shrugged, as Wolfie came to her side and tugged her arm.

"What?" She snapped. He widened his big brown eyes at her and pouted.

"Bertrand's cheating."

"Of course he is, it's Bertrand." She said simply, raising her eyebrow at the little boy. "What did you expect?"

Bertrand glared sharply. "Excuse me?"

"Oh come on. You're a liar and a cheat and you betrayed us all."

"Might I remind you that you did as well?"

"That's different, Vlad's my brother."

"Oh, you use that excuse every time, that doesn't change anything!"

"Yes it does, it's normal to have sibling rivalry."

"You tried to kill him!"

"Same thing."

"Both of you, shut up!" Vlad groaned. "Why can't I live a normal life? Why?"

"Because you're the Chosen One Vladdy, Destined to-"

"Yes, yes, I know." Vlad rolled his eyes and met Erin's. "Erin and I are going out. You two, stop fighting, Wolfie you have permission to play with the toys in the basement and Dad," He narrowed his eyes, a glint of knowing in them. "_No Ball._"

"No fun." The Count pouted as he watched them go. "Come Wolfie, I'll show you my many conquests and I'll tell you all the brilliant stories behind my murders."

"I don't think that's legal," Renfield mumbled, speaking up for the first time since this morning's incident. He'd been in an awful, jealous mood all day.

"Well I'm going to go paint my nails." Ingrid said after a second of silence, getting up as quickly as possible, not looking back at Bertrand as she left. Yes, she couldn't possibly be more obvious. Of all the things, one romantic dream and now she couldn't get him out of her head, and she absolutely _hated _it.

…

"Where did you get this?" Erin laughed, squeezing the giant plush elephants ears and looking at Vlad curiously. She'd found him very different to anything she'd ever thought of a vampire as, and honestly the comparison just got more and more amusing.

"Uh, well…" Vlad bit his lip, and then blushed a little. "My Aunt Helen gave it to me as a puberty present."

"A puberty present? What's a puberty present?" Erin couldn't stop her laughter at this point, making it harder to breathe and talk.

"It's a gift. For when you start going through pub-You know what, it doesn't matter. I don't like it anyway." He pulled the elephant out of her arms and threw it behind him. It seemed that ever since he met her, all he did was make a fool of himself, over and over again. Why, why did he bring out the elephant? He should've known she'd ask about it, but she'd liked the monkey so much that he figured she'd just think it was cute and leave it at that…Ugh, he was like a lovesick puppy.

"I liked it. I thought it was cute." She beamed, her entire face lit up. "I think you, are cute." She added a moment later, stepping closer to him, and pressing her lips to his. He grinned into the kiss.

He loved _this_. He wasn't sure if he loved her, but he knew he really liked her. After a few minutes they broke apart and he smiled at her.

"Arcade?"

"Arcade!" She agreed. The Arcade was where they had their first official date, it was after school and they'd been bored and really, the whole thing was improvised, but it'd turned out to be a lot of fun, they'd compete on the rides and just be themselves, away from vampires and werewolves and chosen ones.

…

Ingrid was bored. Beyond bored. At least when she'd been out on her own, there'd been things to do. Like bite people. But no, Vlad just had to ban that. She'd decided that the most interesting thing to do, was either go and talk to Bertrand, or count all the doors, windows and bricks in the school. She'd decided on the latter. So far, there were thirty-eight windows and twelve doors, and a hole in a wall that one of the worse students had punched yesterday.

She was just about to give up completely, when she heard voices. She frowned, and snuck closer to the source. The art room.

"And this is a painting of your mother, surrounded in blood."

"Why's she surrounded in blood?"

"Because that was my anger phase, I wanted her to die."

"Oh."

Ingrid smirked. She remembered that phase well. He'd been absolutely ridiculously depressed, hardly moving. She'd liked him most during that period.

"Uncle Count?"

"Yes Wolfie?"

"How did you know you loved Mum?"

"Well, she shared a very delicious peasant with me."

"What about the first time you met her then?"

"Well…I was very young, only four hundred. She was an older woman, very appetising. I met her at a bloodbath, it was a very beautiful meeting. She was soaked in it, but she still looked very pretty-"

"Do all of your stories have blood in them?"

"Yes, why?"

"No reason."

Ingrid stifled a laugh and turned around, heading back upstairs. She really didn't need to hear the rest of the story, it got especially grotesque when he described her kissing technique, The Count used to tell this story a lot when she and Vlad were growing up. It seemed it was the only thing he actually told _both _of them, instead of just Vlad. Maybe he just wanted to disgust her, but it still was nice.

She was so caught up thinking about it that she wasn't paying any attention to where she was going, and as usual she was also wearing big heels, so the moment she slammed into something, she just came tumbling down. She landed badly on her ankle and let out a gasp of pain, shutting her eyes tightly for a moment to take it in, and then opening them again to see what she'd smacked into.

Bertrand looked down at her, startled. "Are you alright?" he asked cautiously, as if he thought she might lash out and hit him or something.

She glared at him harshly. "Do I look alright?"

"Yes, mostly."

"Shut up and help me up." She didn't really want to be very close to him but she knew she couldn't walk on her own on it, and if the Count came out and found her there he'd accuse her of eavesdropping, which she was but that wasn't the point.

He bent down and tucked an arm under hers, pulling her to her feet and watching her carefully, like a predator dissecting it's prey with its eyes. She hated that. It should repulse her, but it did the opposite and God, why couldn't she just not have feelings for anybody ever again. What was so wrong about that?

"Can you walk on it?" He asked, though he already knew the answer. He just wanted to see what she'd say. Oh, he'd noticed the avoiding and the scowling and the generally bitchiness aimed at him, and he'd put together why she'd be doing so. It amused him. He'd managed to attract the craziest woman possible, who also happened to be the Chosen one's sister. But it also irritated him. He was here on business, not pleasure, and he shouldn't be getting so comfortable with having her around. She was growing on him like a parasite, and vice versa. Neither of them really wanted to feel the way they did.

"Obviously not, Bats you're dim." She muttered darkly. "You're going to have to walk me to my room, if that's not too much of a _hassle_ for you."

"It is, but your brother will have my head if I don't." He smirked. She elbowed him, hard. He glared at her.

"Oh, sorry. My arm jerks sometimes." She smirked this time, chewing her lip at the same time.

"You should get that checked out. And maybe find out why you're so psycho while you're at it."

"I am not psycho!" She snapped.

"There's a lot of past actions that are against that statement."

"You can't base mental health on actions-"

"_What are you two doing_?"

Ingrid smacked her head against the wall.

"Ah, Count, we were uh…Ingrid hurt her foot."

"And you're out here because?"

"We're on our way to the sick bay for some bandages, obviously. it's your school you'd think you'd know the layout."

The Count huffed. "Come on Wolfie, time to give the story between each bottle of blood in the cellar!" Wolfie dragged his feet behind him, his face devoid of any fun.

"Yay." He drew out, giving Ingrid a pleading look. Ingrid just shrugged and waved.

"Quick thinking."

"Had to do it a lot in Stokely." She explained, and then grinned at him. "Did you see his face? He had no idea what to say back."

"I've never seen him so unsure before. It was a nice change."

Ingrid froze. No. They were not about to just talk like normal people at a school. "Now could you hurry up and get me to my room? My foot still hurts, in case you were too busy thinking about your hair to realize."

"Fine." He said, shaking his head in disbelief at her. He sped her there and left her in the doorway. "I assume you'll be fine from here." He stated sharply. She just nodded and watched him leave.

"What's wrong with my hair?" he mumbled as soon as he was out of earshot, patting it down.

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><p><strong>You guys like? Yes? No? Review and tell me!<br>**

**Amy x**


	3. Secrets and Mayhem

Vlad frowned as he eyed everyone around the table. Bertrand had a book set down in front of him-one he'd insisted Vlad read as well after he was done, as Vlad "must know all techniques in the battlefield"- despite the fact the Count had said books weren't allowed at the table, Wolfie was shovelling his toast down greedily, smearing the chocolate spread all over his puffed cheeks, Erin was stabbing at her bacon with tired eyes, and The Count was just sipping blood while looking out the window, Renfield settled behind him waiting for an order. No one had brought up Ingrid's absence. _No one._

Finally, the exasperation and curiosity overtook him and he sat up straight. "Has anyone seen Ingrid?"

All eyes were on him, and he got a rush of responses, all just stating plainly that they hadn't.

Wolfie however, still with his mouth full, called out a muffled, "I saw her leaving this morning!"

"Good riddance!" The Count beamed, clasping his hands together and tucking them under his chin. "We should have a celebration ball!"

"I already said no ball Dad," Vlad shot, rolling his eyes and turning back to Wolfie, not noticing how Bertrand was suddenly riveted by the young boy as well. "Did she say where she was going?"

Wolfie shook his head and swallowed. "She didn't have her bags though, I don't think she was leaving for good," He smiled brightly. "She wouldn't leave without saying bye to me so I know she's coming back!"

The Count scowled. "She's heartless, of course she would. She most definitely has Wolfie, she hardly owned anything anyway."

Wolfie's smile dropped and his lip quivered. "What?"

Renfield smirked, but Vlad clenched his fists and shot the Count a harsh glare. Before he could say anything, Erin broke into the conversation, looking at Wolfie comfortingly.

"Don't worry, she'll be back. She hasn't killed Vlad yet so she won't be leaving so soon." She bit her lip and sent a cheeky grin Vlad's way, he smirked to himself and nodded towards Wolfie in agreement.

"She's not going to give up that easily."

Bertrand just picked up his book and continued reading.

…

She wasn't quite sure an umbrella was the safest thing she could have blocked the sun with, but then again it wasn't sunny here anyway, so it wasn't about to shine through, thank bats. She didn't know how long she'd been here, just that she found it easier to 'talk' to him when she was here, and she felt closer to him every time she came. It'd been five years now since he died, but looking at his grave always felt like a fresh punch in the stomach. She sighed and fiddled with the dirt beneath her bent knees, before looking up at the grave again with a sigh.

_William Clarke_

_Husband, Brother, Son._

She sighed and tried to think of his little sister, two year old Maggie, and then realized it hurt too to think of the child who she'd stolen the brother of. She swallowed and scowled, hating the feeling of water building up in her eyes. She missed him, despite how easy it was to convince herself that she didn't care about anything.

She was able to gather her courage a few minutes later, and she pressed a gloved hand against the cool stone, closed her eyes, and whispered, "I love you."

../

Bertrand watched, despite his claim to hate the girl, as she re-entered the school gates rather sadly. He frowned to himself, crossing his arms over his chest. Honestly, the girl was insufferable enough as it was, if she was in a mood then she was going to be ten times worse. Or at least, that's the 'reason' he used for his determination to find out what was wrong with her, he was _not _letting feelings interfere with his judgement, he was here solely to train Vlad.

She swept into the school under the cover of the lurching stone gargoyles, and disappeared from sight. Bertrand scowled and pushed her to the back of his mind. It was about time for his second training session with Erin and he'd been dreading it all morning. The girl was, in his opinion, as dim as a doorknob and incapable of actually learning.

Loud bangs and claps were what attracted him to the armory fifteen minutes early, his guard up and ready to face any intruder possible-But what he hadn't expected, was Erin, trying to wield the sword she'd been unable to use merely a week ago. She was struggling, but she was succeeding, and he watched on in stunned silence as she swung it perfectly, the way he had showcased for her. He felt a tiny smirk spread across his face. Maybe this wouldn't be as horrible as he'd initially thought.

…

Vlad sighed, deep creases on his face from frowning. He didn't know what to do, everything was so messed up.

"Your grace, I must push the option forward. It's the only chance for an alliance, and avoidance of war-"

"I know, Keiher." Vlad addressed the advisor sharply. "But I do not agree with the council's decision."

"Neither do any of us, I assure you sir. But…It seems to be your only hope for this Utopia of which you speak." The elderly vampire pressed back his gelled hair and bent forward in his chair to look Vlad directly in the eye. "A world in which humans and vampires are harmonious is the stuff of daydreams and naivety, but if it's what you really want, this is the only way to ascertain it."

Vlad took a deep breath, and clenched his hands together. "I can't force her-"

"You are her king. You are the Grand High Vampire, and she _must _obey you."

"No. I am her brother before anything else. I can't make her do such a thing." Vlad abruptly jerked onto his feet and turned away from the old man, walking with purpose straight out the door.

"You know it will all come back to this, Vladimir! You have no choice, and neither does she!"

Vlad knew he was right, but he kept walking. He would try as hard as he could tonight to think of a way out, and then tomorrow, he would deliver his decision to the Council. But for now, he needed to sit down and have a drink.

…

Wolfie pouted from where he sat in the living room. It had been a long day, but for everyone it seemed to be long for a different reason. Not a reason any of them would divulge to him of course, no one seemed to trust the young wolf. His eyes lit up as he had an idea. Oh, it was a brilliant idea, one that would finally get everyone to realize how clever he actually was.

Quickly, he ran off to find his two victims, oh this was going to be very fun indeed.

He found both of them, conveniently enough, in the library. Ingrid was on one side, reading some book on the French revolution, and Vlad on the other side, creepily enough, watching Ingrid. Wolfie frowned at this, but he didn't really question it as he needed to get his plan under way, before it was too late. He searched his pockets for the cold metal and beamed when he felt it against the pads of his fingers-Yes, he was about to solve all of the family's problems, all the while annoying his siblings greatly. It was nice to be the youngest child in the clan, it meant he could get away with anything.

He locked the library door loudly, and listened.

"What the hell?" The door rattled, and banged, but the library had also been designed as a bomb shelter and the door was made of heavy metal, and neither could break free of it.

"Wolfie, I swear to Bats I'll skin you, Mutt!" Ingrid screeched.

"No you won't!" Wolfie teased, and ran off, giggling. He felt like an evil mastermind, and wanted to do something else that was just as crazy! And what was more self destructive than sneaking into Vlad's room and looking through his things?

He hadn't expected the door to Vlad's room to be open already, but it pleased him as it suited his plan well. He started with the cupboard, and then wished he hadn't. There was a box in there, a box that held something that Wolfie had _not _wanted to think about his brother using. Especially with Erin. Eugh. He moved on to the desk, flipping through newspaper clippings and folders until he came across a certain folder that caught his attention. A tiny photo of Ingrid was clipped to the front, and it was labelled, 'Dracula Liason Operation'. He'd only read a little bit before he gasped and dropped the file in horror. No, no Vlad wouldn't do that to Ingrid. He wouldn't put her in that position, especially not with how much he supported her Vampiress Liberation plans. No. He wouldn't.

Would he?

…

Ingrid scowled and kicked the door one last time. "Oh for bats sake, when I get out of here I'm going to beat him until his face turns blue." She hissed, crossing her arms.

Vlad however, saw this whole thing as an opportunity. "Where were you this morning?"

"I went for a walk." She said quickly, before groaning again. "I bet I know exactly what that little runt is doing right now. I bet he's going through our stuff."

"Ingrid…" Vlad hesitated, he wanted to bring up her aversion to talking to him, but he was afraid she'd start another fight and he was really too exhausted for that. Especially with this brand new burden on his shoulders that had also, ultimately, been caused by her.

"Oh no. We are not going to have some dramatic heart to heart here." She said sharply, moving back to the dropped book she'd been reading before. "You stay on your side, I stay on mine. Deal?"

"Ingrid, we have to talk sometime and I'm sick of dancing around it. I'm your brother, doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"As much as me being his daughter matters to Dad." She shot back, not even bothering to look back at him, trying to concentrate on her book.

"Well it means something to me. I've tried my hardest to protect you and to stop you from doing stupid things but that's not going to last forever Ingrid, I need to be able to trust you again!" He continued, exasperated at her behaviour.

"I don't trust you and that seems to be working out well enough for me."

"Then why are you here? Why haven't you left?"

She froze. Why hadn't she left? He honestly had no answer to that really, she couldn't think of any good reason why she hadn't left. Except for the horrible nagging feeling that she wanted to be there, wanted to stay with Vlad and Wolfie and even Bertrand, as much as she really hated to admit that.

"Because I don't want to lose my position as your number two. I need it to promote Vampiress Liberation." She drawled calmly, flipping to the next page of her book.

"Bats, why are you so difficult?" he groaned. "I swear, there's nothing I will ever be able to do to please you. I give up." He huffed and retreated to his side of the library, angrily opening up a random book and beginning to read, not noticing Ingrid's startled expression.

…

_**Sorry guys, filler chapter. I've just finished exams and it's been a really stressful time, but I've already started the next chapter which should be up soon enough, it's a very big one Bertrand and Ingrid wise ;)**_

_**Also, we'll find out what's going on with Vlad and the Council and the folder that Wolfie found! Poor Ingrid's obliviously in the middle of it all!**_

_**Review, or how else will I know you guys like the fic enough to want more chapters? I'm actually not sure if I even like this enough to continue it, it all depends on you guys!**_

_**X0X0**_


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